I really love Hillary. But I'm deeply saddened by her remarks today regarding the Reagans and AIDS.

[beaglelover]

Is she really just trying to be super sarcastic or did someone give her terribly incorrect information???

Hillary Gets It Wrong On Nancy Reagan & AIDS, Says Nancy’s “Low-Key Advocacy” Brought Attention [VIDEO]

March 11, 2016 2016 Election, LGBT History

The internet is in a furor this afternoon due to Hillary Clinton’s words about Nancy Reagan and AIDS. Via New Republic:

Hillary Clinton is dead wrong about Nancy Reagan and AIDS. In an appearance on MSBC, Clinton praised the Reagans’ efforts to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. “Because of both President and Mrs. Reagan, in particular Mrs. Reagan, we started a national conversation when before nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it,” Clinton said, crediting Nancy for “her very effective, low-key advocacy.”

Just how “low-key” was Nancy’s advocacy? So low-key that most people would characterize it as not advocacy at all. After the disease’s first cases were identified in 1981, President Reagan waited until 1987, almost at the end of his second term, to speak publicly about the disease. His communications director, Pat Buchanan, described AIDS as “nature’s revenge on gay men.”

Nancy herself even turned down a request from her old friend Rock Hudson, who was dying of AIDS in 1985, for help in getting a transfer to a hospital with better treatment. She believed the favor would be inappropriate, though the couple reportedly performed many other favors for Hollywood friends.

Gawker blasts:

It’s almost tempting to interpret this as withering, devastating sarcasm—the Reagans “started a national conversation about AIDS” in the same sense that George W. Bush “started a national conversation” about Iraq.

In reality, the Reagans were infamously, disastrously silent on AIDS—as President, Ronald Reagan spoke more about UFOs than HIV, and didn’t even say the word in a public address until 1987, by which point it had killed tens of thousands of Americans. The virus was quite literally a joke inside the Reagan White House.

Whatever “advocacy” of Nancy’s Clinton is dreaming up here must’ve been low-key to the point of non-existence—just last year it was reported that she ignored her Hollywood friend Rock Hudson’s pleas for help as he himself died from AIDS.

It’s hard for one ugly episode to stand out among so many ugly aspects of the Reagan administration, but Nancy and Ronald’s deliberate silence on one of the defining public health crises of the era is surely near the top of any list. What Clinton is saying isn’t just untrue, but erases the deadly legacy of the Reagan era.

Huffington Post feels the same:

Hillary Clinton seems to need some reminding about what happened in the early days of the AIDS epidemic. The Democratic presidential candidate made polarizing, inaccurate — not to mention offensive — comments on Friday about the role that the Reagans, specifically Nancy Reagan, played in combatting the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

Yet, as Teen Vogue wrote this week, Reagan actually turned her back on thousands of people, many of whom identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), as they died from the virus during her time as first lady.

Similarly, The Guardian reported last year that the former first lady withheld help from close friend Rock Hudson when he reached out to the White House while dying of complications related to AIDS in1985.

http://www.joemygod.com/2016/03/11/hillary-gets-it-wrong-on-nancy-reagan-aids-says-nancys-low-key-advocacy-brought-attention-video/

[leftofcool]

1. Ron feels differently.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/nancy-reagan/2011/01/other-headline-9.html

[beaglelover]

2. Thank you for sharing that link with me.

[leftofcool]

3. There are a few other articles that talk about her compassion on the subject

It appears that she is actually the one who pushed her husband to address it.

[dlwickham]

4. Hillary needs to walk this back ASAP

she's going to lose a big chunk of the LGBT vote if she doesn't

[BlueMTexpat]

7. It appears that Hillary was more

correct than not. See posts up-thread.

[otohara]

9. She Already Did

in a tweet.

She's sorry, misspoke.

[dlwickham]

10. I've posted the tweet on several sites now

it was starting to get ugly

[otohara]

11. Of Course It Is

because apologizing is never enough when it's Hillary.

Sanders can write about rape fantasies and gets a pass.

[72DejaVu]

5. I on't expect any candidate to be perfect

and I think she has misremembered her history here. If she had confined her remarks to Nancy, she'd have at least a bit of a point. But Ronald Reagan's inaction on AIDS was criminal.

I hope Hillary will reflect on her comments and admit that her statement is not accurate. But still, if I wanted to support an infallible demigod, I'd be backing Bernie Panders.

[leftofcool]

6. According to things Ron Reagan Jr has said, the statement is not inaccurate.

[72DejaVu]

15. In reference to his mother, not his father

But Hillary did the right things, stepped up and made a sincere apology for her misstatement.

[Thinkingabout]

8. There was funding of research of aids during the Reagan Administration.

As for Waxman’s recollections about AIDS funding, he does an unusual thing for a politician: He’s forgotten the success he and other Democrats had in convincing Reagan to spend more money. The administration increased AIDS funding requests from $8 million in 1982 to $26.5 million in 1983, which Congress bumped to $44 million, a number that doubled every year thereafter during Reagan’s presidency.

Read more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/06/01/ronald_reagan_and_aids_correcting_the_record_122806.html#ixzz42dFqfwa7
Follow us: @RCP_Articles on Twitter

In fact Reagan decreased funding to Alzheimers research in his administration.

[Skid Rogue]

12. Those were dark days.

I just remember how absolutely abandoned the gay community felt by Reagan and the federal gov. I'll give Hillary a tiny befit of the doubt -- maybe Nancy worked behind the scenes, maybe Reagan did more than is known, but was too worried about his conservative base to advertise the fact. However, it was an issue like Flint Mi, a national emergency. We needed massive support from Reagan and didn't get it. I'm not letting Ronnie or Nancy off the hook.

There's no blame to the Clintons on this. In 1992, I watched the Presidential results come in at a Gay bar in the Village. Now, that felt like a "revolution." If the Nation hadn't been so right-wing at that time, Clinton would have accomplished a lot more for gay folks and the fight against AIDS.

[leftofcool]

14. You are right

I will say that it was Nancy who pushed for more funding for AIDS and got it. So low key was probably the correct phrase. And since the current crop of GOP hopefuls are trying to out Reagan each other on the stump, it was a brilliant move for Hillary to put that out there. All you will read for a few news cycles is how Reagan was horrible on AIDS.

[Skid Rogue]

16. I get it...

And it hits the right-wing base in a couple of different ways. Let their homophobia battle their love of Reagan's legacy. Mostly, I want Hillary to win this. So, it's all cool by me .

Reagan + AIDS is just one of those subjects that gets my nose out of joint. He was an absolute disaster during the AIDS crisis. The only good that came of it was his silence created the modern day Gay Rights Movement. Remember Act Up?

[leftofcool]

18. I do remember

My brother died in 1999 because of AIDS. I remember well how he railed against Reagan for not addressing it. I don't remember him ever saying anything about Nancy though.

[Skid Rogue]

20. I'm so sorry about your brother, leftofcool.

I lost a lot of friends during the 80s and 90s. It was heartbreaking. Thank God things are better now.

And even though I disagreed with Hillary on her original statement, my support for her didn't waiver. I'm voting for a President, not a Saint, or a reflection of myself.

[Mary Mac]

24. a grain of truth

Thanks I like the idea that there is a grain of truth to what H said. We treated Aids like Ebola and we were all ignorant

[Her Sister]

22. I had just come out of the military in 92, voted for Pres. Bill Clinton

While in the military I saw lots of fellow compatriots get investigated and persecuted for being gay! I know how anti gay the nation was at that time.

BClinton tried to help but at that time all he could do was enact Don't ask, Don't tell!! I know it doesn't sound good today in 2016. But at that time it did make a difference! It meant the military could not investigate -just because!!, like they were-ACTIVELY doing. After DADT the only way was for you to out yourself and then and only then could they court martial the person. So it did stop all the investigating and gays were freer to do their service for the nation.

I am female vet, not gay, but giving part of my story of what happened in the 1990's.

[Treant]

13. I said over there..

...where I am far less calm and far more likely to refer to certain cards as what they are...that this looks more like a good trolling of the Reagan legacy than anything else.

I guarantee the news will carry this with information about how the Reagans ignored and destroyed people's lives by ignoring HIV and AIDS.

Talk about a good smearing on the day of Nancy's funeral, and it's not going to leave much of a mark on her.

Her tweet also implies that she "wanted" (for political values of wanted) to say "stem cell research."

[riversedge]

17. *** Hillary Clinton’s statement on her comments about the Reagans' record on HIV and AIDS:

I am just going tol et this rest.

X-posted:


JackBeck (12,331 posts)

Hillary Clinton’s statement on her comments about the Reagans' record on HIV and AIDS:




https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/708403247795539968

[PeaceNikki]

19. The way they handled the AIDS crisis is one of the most shameful periods in our history.

It sucks she wasn't incredibly aware of that but I'm glad she corrected it without making excuses.

[Skid Rogue]

21. Oh, I believe she was incredibly aware of it, every political person was.

There was almost a national countdown on when/if Reagan would say the word "AIDS." By the late 80s, there were op-eds and 6 o'clock news stories and Act Up and Hollywood and the cover of Time Magazine.

Also, Bill campaigned heavily in the gay community, promising more money and attention for AIDS.

I'm sure she knew this issue better than most people. She either misspoke or someone younger does her tweets for her.

[otohara]

23. Who Did More For AIDS Research? The Clinton's

first in the White House and continued at Clinton Health Access Initiative part of the Clinton Foundation.

Providing National Leadership. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have worked hard to invigorate the response to HIV and AIDS, providing new national leadership, substantially greater resources and a closer working relationship with affected communities. During their Administration, funding for AIDS research has increased by over 57 percent at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while funding for HIV prevention has increased 36 percent. Funding for the Ryan White CARE Act has increased by over 260 percent.

Although much work remains to find a cure, progress has been made. In 1996, for the first time in the history of the AIDS epidemic, the number of Americans diagnosed with AIDS declined. And between 1996 and 1997, HIV/AIDS mortality declined 47 percent, falling from the leading cause of death among 25-44 year olds in 1995 to the fifth leading cause of death in that age group. There has been a decline in the number of AIDS cases overall and a sharp decline in new AIDS cases in infants and children.

Leading the Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS. On December 1, 1998 (World AIDS Day), the President announced a new $10 million initiative at USAID to address the growing crisis of children orphaned by AIDS. The United States has invested over $1 billion in international AIDS relief since the start of the epidemic and funds 25% of UNAIDS. NIH represents the largest single public investment in AIDS research in the world. More than $62 million of NIH's international AIDS research in FY1999 is being conducted overseas in partnership with the global scientific community.

Historic $156 Million Effort to Address HIV/AIDS in Communities of Color. While racial and ethnic groups account only for about 25 percent of the U.S. population, they account for more than 50 percent of all AIDS cases. On October 28, 1998, President Clinton declared HIV/AIDS to be a severe and ongoing health crisis in racial and ethnic minority communities and announced a comprehensive new initiative that invests an unprecedented $156 million to improve the nation's effectiveness in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in the African-American, Hispanic, and other minority communities. This funding is spread across three broad categories: technical assistance and infrastructure support; increasing access to prevention and care, and building stronger linkages to address the needs of specific populations.

Fighting to Pass a Strong, Enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. President Clinton has called on the Congress to pass a strong, enforceable patients' bill of rights that assures Americans the quality health care they need. The bill should include important patient protections such as: assuring direct access to specialists; real emergency room protections; continuity of care provisions that protect patients from abrupt changes in treatment; a fair, timely, and independent appeals process for patient grievances; and enforcement provisions to make these rights real.http://clinton2.nara.gov/ONAP/accomp.html

Two-thirds of people who need treatment in the developing world are still not receiving it.
When the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) was founded in 2002, only 200,000 people were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS in low and middle income countries, with medicines that cost over $10,000 per person per year. Over a decade later, more than eight million people are receiving treatment and CHAI has helped reduce the cost of medicines to around $100 to $200 per person per year in many countries. Countries have repeatedly proven that it is possible to rapidly scale up treatment services. For the first time, there is real promise that we can turn the tide against HIV/AIDS.
- See more at: https://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/clinton-health-access-initiative/programs/hivaids#sthash.yrIoty6H.dpuf